The Saiyan's new hope
by thebeastlystuff
Summary: After countless near death experiences, Bardock reflects on what truly matters to him. He realizes that his constant fighting is worthless without meaning and hopes to finally get involved with his family. However, after figuring out that Frieza intends on destroying Vegeta, Bardock risks making the ultimate sacrifice to help Gine and Kakarot escape.


Intro:

I really love the Dragon Ball franchise as a whole, but I think that the arcs don't carry the same weight that they used to. I hope to capture what made dragon ball great at its core to me while adding real stakes to future events and possibly shaking up what used to be canon. I loved the adventure like tone of the Dragon Ball series with emotional moments and a real sense of danger. The story is not planned out, but I have a general idea of where I want it to go and that place probably will not follow canon very closely. This does not mean events won't happen, there might just be different periods of time between arcs. I think it's going to turn out really good.

Side note: This is not my main story. I know I haven't updated my main story in a long time, but I think that working on this will actually encourage me to write more of my main story. Candle in the Wind is not dead and I hope to update it sometime in the sorta near future.

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1: Prologue

Age 739

Surrounded by a bunch of low level opposition, Bardock turns to his comrade, Leek, as they prepare a formation to destroy a mass of the alien foe. Bardock and Leek headline the main task force in this particular operation, with other saiyans helping establish a perimeter throughout the planet. Right now, Bardock and Leek are fighting in the zone with the majority of opposing soldiers with the other few saiyans there wrangling any stragglers and making sure Bardock and Leek do not get surrounded. It should be a simple operation, but on the battlefield, a simple slip up could cost someone their life. Despite severely outclassing their current adversaries, Bardock has a laser focus on the task ahead. Once in position, Bardock rushes forward shooting powerful ki blasts through several aliens around him. A terrified creatures pulls out a giant ki blaster and attempts to shoot Leek, but he is offed by a nonchalant energy forming from Leek's right hand. Bardock and Leek run around the exterior of the alien's defenses and kill them one by one. Blasting through the weak inhabitants, it doesn't take long for the two Saiyan warriors to take out the entire hoard of low level alien soldiers in their zone and retreat while most of the other Saiyans on the planet work to establish a perimeter.

Settling into a temporary rest station with a few other warriors, Bardock sits down and breathes a brief but heavily sigh of relief. The easy part of extermination is over, next, Bardock and Leek will begin their assault on the higher level soldiers from this alien race. Leek takes out a cold drink from the Saiyan food storage and struts around. He triumphantly announces to the three Saiyans in the room, "WOW THAT WAS EASY, maybe I'm getting too strong." While the two other Saiyans chuckle, Bardock stays quiet. Seemingly noticing Bardock's mulled reaction compared to usual, Leek puts on a serious face and approaches Bardock. "What's with the cold reaction, we're the squad leaders, we need to be raising morale. Plus, I know that wasn't the most difficult fight, but it was exhilarating… I almost died twice, plus, I killed like five thousand aliens. It's not every day you get the chance to do that."

Bardock returns a half smile at his comrade's statement. "I know I should be pumped, but we need to stay vigilant even if we fight on hundreds of planets every year. A single blast can end your life."

Leek brushes off Bardock's comment and continues his upbeat speaking, "That's part of the thrill of the fight though, isn't it? We only fought aliens with power levels between twenty five and fifty and the occasional blaster was able to occasionally put me in danger. Seeking this kind of danger is what has been waking you up so early every day your entire fighting life, now should be no different. Just remember how fun this is, us Saiyans love to fight." Leek flashes a smile at Bardock after his last sentence before joining the other two Saiyans to celebrate the initial victory.

As Bardock watches the jubilant Leek bounce away, he wonders to himself, _Why is it so hard to fight now that I have a partner and kids. I still love the thrill of a fight but I want to stay alive so much more, should I still be fighting if I can't enjoy it? I can't stop thinking about returning back home that I'm fighting way too cautiously. NO NO NO. I can not have that attitude. Some of Gine's softness may have rubbed off on me but I can't let that get in the way. Damn, it's not the Saiyan way to get attached like this. I need to get my edge back. _

Bardock is interrupted from his thoughts as he gets a message on his scouter, The perimeter is set, now it is up to you and Leek to lead the assault on the upper level warriors. All Saiyans will give backup and ensure we do not get flanked, but given your power level, we expect this eradication to be over by the end of the day.

Bardock reads the message on the scouter and stands up, preparing for battle. The final words cross Leek's scouter and he gives Bardock a curt nod. Immediately, Bardock turns on commander mode as he looks around and barks orders at the other two Saiyans. "All right, break time is over. The perimeter is set and stalling will only allow our foes to escape. Leek and I will front the assault while you act as support." The four Saiyans run outside and begin flying to the war zone with Leek barely keeping up and the other two saiyans straggling behind. He now speaks through his scouter, "No time to waste, Leek and I will be going ahead. Get to the main battle as fast as you can to support your fellow Saiyans."

Bardock looks at Leek beside him. "Here we will be fighting more common soldiers, however, we should expect to see the elite troops in the mix as well. The creatures we fought earlier were stronger than we expected, so I don't know what we'll see here. Given our power level and the power level of the ten Saiyans on this planet with us, we have no reason to believe that we should be in any danger…"

Leek stops Bardock from speaking any more. "PLEASE STOP TALKING, YOU'RE GONNA GIVE ME A HEADACHE. Seriously Bardock, stop with your over-analyzing of the situation. The ten warriors with us have power levels around one thousand. My power level is around one thousand nine hundred. Your power level is even higher than that. No creature on this planet should be able to take any Saiyan on one on one. NOW CAN YOU PLEASE SHUT UP WHILE WE BUST SOME HEADS. If you want a strategy, we'll just overpower them. Yeah, that's our strategy, blitz em." Leek speeds up ahead.

Images of Gine flash in Bardock's head as he becomes more resolute in his wish for survival. _I am here for the mission, I will not die. This is not about just the thrill of the fight, I have Gine to get back to, I don't care if that makes me different. I guess… I care for her. _Bardock speeds up, quickly catching up to Leek and arriving at the place of the species last stand.

Bardock quickly sees a Saiyan struggling to fend off two high level creatures. His scouter goes off, confirming the two creatures to have power levels of 380 and 421. Bardock rushes in and quickly kicks both beasts, ending them in one attack. Bardock spots another Saiyan in combat a few miles away and immediately flies towards her, readying himself for another tussle.

After a half hour of continuous fighting, Bardock begins to realize something isn't right. He has already fought over thirty foes with power levels over three hundred, and the data said he should only need to eliminate around five on the planet. It seemed like the battle was almost over but Bardock knew that couldn't be the case. This isn't right, Bardock could feel it. Either the data was horribly wrong about the level of resistance the Saiyans would face, or the resistance had been preparing and training for an attack. Either way, it is not good news.

Almost on cue, Bardock turns and hears the ear splitting shriek from the reinforcements. Flanking a group of Saiyans, Bardock notices 20 creatures barrelling towards him with 3 big bosses coming behind them. With his heart rate beginning to skyrocket, Bardock quickly checks the power levels of the creatures storming his group. _704, 680, 654, 703, 711, 620, 835… Oh no, this could mean serious trouble if we don't face them as a group. _Bardock then looks at the three main fighters behind the group of 20. _2310, 2256, oh my kami that last one is higher than me… 3127. I don't know if we can beat this group. _

Bardock speaks into the scouter, "Fight this horde together, this is likely this planets last line of defense. Leek, come help me fight the three big guys. I have no chance of beating em alone and they will end our forces if we don't kill them now. "

Bardock and Leek rush the three creatures and begin a vicious battle. The fight is almost even but the alien foe begin to get the upper hand on the two Saiyans. Bardock looks at Leek and they both nod. Hoping to even up the three on two struggle, Bardock puts all of his energy into his initial ki attack then elbows and kicks the weakest boss creature. Leek rushes full speed and follows up this attack with his finishing move, killing the creature. Bardock's stamina is drained after his attack but doesn't have time to dwell on it, depleted, he is faced with a punch from the strongest foe that knocks him out.

When Bardock awakens, he notices many of the other Saiyans are knocked out with a couple dead. Three low level Saiyans are being overrun by the eight remaining mid level foes, while the two main bosses are rushing to get themselves into the fray.

"Nooooo" Bardock screams out and Leak wakes up from his unconscious state. Once again he rushes his powerful foes, with Leek stumbling into the mix. Despite Leek's rhetoric earlier about avoiding strategy and blindly rushing their opponent, there's a reason Bardock consistently chooses Leek to join him on his missions. Leek is one of the smartest Saiyans, and when Bardock and Leek are outmatched, they are able to use superior teamwork and knowledge of each others fighting styles. In the heat of the battle, Leek is able to avoid his Saiyan tendencies and think clearly.

That does not mean they are winning. On high alert, Bardock is barely able to dodge the stronger foes punches and quick kicks. Bardock and Leek get an alert on their scouters, the power level of one of the three remaining Saiyans is decreasing rapidly. Bardock and Leek share a quick worried look, but Leek knows what to do. He sprints off to the group of remaining Saiyans and hopes to quickly help eliminate their mid level foes.

Two on one with a more powerful and fresh enemy, Bardock begins to get overpowered. Barely blocking and moving back, Bardock is losing a lot of ground.

Everything goes blank. A right elbow manages to get by Bardock's defenses and his vision turns white as the elbow connects with the side of his skull. A powerful kick to the stomach launches him into the earth as a spurt of blood exits his mouth. In the darkness, Bardock's life begins flashing before his eyes. Images of Gine litter his psyche as he feels the continued punches from his foes breaking his ribs. Bardock sees Gine looking fondly at baby Raditz and Bardock internally smiles. _He is a coward and has no morals, but unlike these other Saiyans, he has a concept of survival. _A new foreign image appears to Bardock. Gine is warmly gazing at what looks like a very young version of himself.

Bardock feels another surge of pain as his arm clearly snaps. His life is slipping away.

Suddenly, the image of this same child appears once again, this time as an infant in the Saiyan incubation chambers. Too weak to even think clearly, Bardock internally mumbles, _Kakarot, I need to see Kakarot. I need to guide you and help you live. _

Another blow is felt by Bardock, the same injured arm from earlier is nearly shattered now.

_Fuck it, I can't deny it any longer. Screw all this planet conquering bullshit, I just care about my family. It feels liberating to finally admit it. I love my family. I guess I can die at peace with myself finally knowing this fact. _

A final image flashes in Bardock's mind. Gine is holding Kakarot and both are crying terribly. They look completely distraught. The perspective of the image turns around. Bardock comes face to face with an urn with his picture and face on it.

_NOOOOOOOOO! I must live. I need to see them again. _

Suddenly, a yellow aura surrounds Bardock. His hair remains black but his eyes seem empty in rage. The force of his aura is enough to knock back his attackers as he shoots up and gives an ear piercing scream, "I WILL NOT LOSE."

Leek uses this distraction to kill one of the mid level warriors, before pressing his scouter to get a reading on Bardock. 5600, 12000, 30000 _His power level just keeps on growing. _Leek's scouter explodes and Bardock charges the high powered foes.

It takes just one hit and two seconds for Bardock to kill each remaining opponent, punching his way through the nine aliens. His yellow aura begins to disappear and he continues to stand in a zombielike trance.

The remaining conscious Saiyans are completely silent with bemused expressions on their faces. Leek finally manages to speak, "Bardock, how did you do that?"

Bardock looks at Leek, "Power comes in response to a need, not a desire. I needed to see my…" Bardock passes out, this time for real.

The battlefield is a mess. After going through the carnage, three saiyans are found dead and the entire planet is littered with the corpses of its near ten thousand defenders.

Bardock finds himself awake again in a healing chamber on the planet, his arm no longer shattered but his ribs still completely unhealed. Some soldiers from the Frieza Force have arrived to enslave or murder the remaining untrained population.

Leek and the 7 living Saiyans celebrate a victorious battle. The mood is triumphant and Bardock resents that. _I almost died. I want to live and see Gine again. Three of our own died and all we did was kill thousands of people and enslave millions. Nobody gains from this, us Saiyans already have enough resources to thrive our numbers only remain stagnant from all the death. It is clear we are being used. _

Despite the brutal injuries, Bardock exits the healing pod. He and the remaining Saiyans are then immediately sent on another mission to speed up the eradication of another species. Bardock notices a huge increase in his strength as he exits the chamber. He is no longer an average low-class Saiyan warrior, his power has risen to make him among the strongest low-class warriors.

(Start of Dragon Ball Minus)

Bardock and Leek are fighting giant frog-like creatures on a new planet. Bardock has given Leek his own scouter since apparently Leek's old scouter broke on the previous mission. _I'll ask Leek about that later, I don't really remember what happened. I had that dream, but there's no way that really happened. _

Bardock is interrupted by his thoughts when Leek calls for him across the battlefield. "Frieza has ordered us to retreat. We should return to Planet Vegeta as soon as possible."

In the spaceship on their way to Planet Vegeta, Bardock finds himself talking to Leek.

"So Leek, what actually happened during our mission. I remember almost dying, but after that it's a real haze… I dreamt that I went crazy and defeated the opposing soldiers but that couldn't have happened. Right?"

"You really don't remember, wow! Your power went crazy, you were well above 30,000 when my scouter broke. You immediately destroyed the enemies than said something about power being a response to a need. I don't know man, for a second it looked like your eyes and hair would change color but I must have been seeing things."

_So my dream really did happen. I didn't think Saiyans could get that strong. _

"Now that I think about it, a sudden return to the planet seems kinda fishy." Bardock looks at Leek, "Take off my scouter, we don't want anyone listening in on our conversation."

Leek obliges and starts speaking again, "I'm kinda sick of Frieza just commanding us to do things all of a sudden. We don't have any control of our schedule and it's so hard to get stronger."

Bardock nods, "Yeah this is weird, Frieza hasn't done something like this before. Also yeah, we really have no autonomy." Bardock looks outside and notices Frieza's ship hovering around the planet. "I wonder what Frieza is doing here, I fear there is more to this mission then we are being told."

Leek laughs, "I wouldn't worry about it, you're always overthinking things."

Bardock grumbles, _This is really the third smartest Saiyan I know. How pathetic. _Bardock smiles, _At least I get to see my wife soon. I'll finally get to meet Kakarot outside of his incubation pod as well, I think it's about time I settle down. I love fighting, but I will fight only to protect my family._

Bardock relaxes for the first time in over a year as he waits for his ship to complete the journey back to Planet Vegeta. Staring into the void that is space, Bardock finds time for some rare critical thinking.

_What Leek said earlier is interesting but very true. For a warrior race, us Saiyans really don't optimize our gifts to get stronger. That may have been the strongest race I have ever encountered, so we're rarely challenged much. We rarely ever train and we are often encouraged by the Frieza Force to use the de-stressing chamber after a mission. Our best trait is our ability to increase our strength after near death experiences and we suppress that gift. Now that I think about it, this is surely by design. Frieza must fear our strength. That can't be good though. If all Saiyans are being called back to our planet, and Frieza fears us, and Frieza is capable of blowing up planets. OH NO. I need to warn Gine, Raditz, and Kakarot. _

Bardock finally arrives back on Planet Vegeta. Despite the grim future he predicts, Bardock is still a little happy since he realized what really matters to him. He finally will have a family. As Bardock walks back to the pod, he is greeted by several Saiyans.

"Hey Bardock." "Long time no see." "Glad to see, you're still alive."

As Bardock is about to enter the town in which Gine works, a Saiyan says everything Bardock has heard but combines it into one sentence.

Bardock looks back at the Saiyan, "Have you heard anything about why we were all summoned back?"

"Nah, maybe he found a really juicy planet or something. Oh, some guys from Frieza's army were asking around about a Super Saiyan."

Bardock hides his reaction but starts rushing back to the meatpacking district. As soon as Bardock enters the store, he calls out to Gine and wraps her up in a tender embrace.

Looking happy with a blush, Gine returns the hug. "Wow Bardock, that's not like you. What's gotten into you."

Bardock looks down happy yet conflicted, "I've begun to realize what really matters. Anyways, how are Raditz and Kakarot doing? It should be time for Kakarot to leave the incubation chamber soon, right?

Gine is a little speechless, but happily responds, "Raditz has actually already been chosen as a combatant with Prince Vegeta and Kakarot is nearly ready to leave the chamber. I could honestly take him out now if you are really interested."

Bardock gives a light smile but then gives a very serious expression. "I'm going to steal two space pods tonight, I will launch you too to different planets."

Gine looks perplexed, "Why do we have to do that now? Being an infiltration baby is dangerous and I'm not strong enough to face any real resistance."

"It's for Kakarot's safety."

A little worried, Gine responds, "What? What do you mean?"

Bardock has a stone cold expression, "Frieza is up to something, I sense the presence of death."

Gine hardens her look, "If you really believe that, I trust you. What about Raditz? What would the plan be?"

Bardock gives a brief smile, "If Raditz is with Prince Vegeta, he is already in safe hands. As for the plan, I will send Kakarot to planet Earth and will send you to a planet close to Earth but far enough away that no one could suspect anything if you are caught. If you reach that planet alive, you shall survive for a few years than make your way to earth and hopefully find Kakarot."

Gine begins pleading with Bardock, "Why can't we all just escape together?"

"My power level is too high, the scouters will sense me leaving. You might just be weak enough now to get by if you are unconscious."

A few tears begin to form under Gine's eyes. "Will we ever get to see each other again?"

"I don't know but I really hope so. In case we don't meet, I want to take Kakarot out of the pod and hold him before we send him away."

That night, Bardock and Gine take Kakarot out of his incubation chamber for the first time. He cries a lot but quickly calms down from the feeling of love emanating from both his parents. Warm, in a family embrace, Kakarot falls asleep.

Once Kakarot is asleep, beads of tears begin to form under Bardock's eyes. He quickly wipes them away and goes to retrieve two attack pods. Once Bardock returns, he brings the strongest sleep medicine and ki relaxers available to Saiyans with him.

"All right Gine, it's time for you to take these. You'll be knocked out in around an hour at which point I'll send you to an unnamed planet."

Gine looks at her knight in shining armour, "It's not like you to be worried about your kid."

Bardock smiles back, "I must have gotten it from you because you're such a softie."

Gine takes the pill and starts walking with Bardock to the location of the two stolen pods. Once they arrive, Bardock kisses Kakarot on the forehead to wake him up. With the pod door open, Bardock speaks in the softest tone he can to Kakarot, "I will be sending you to earth. There is plenty of food and water, and the resources and inhabitants are weak and invaluable. Just know that we are doing this for you."

Bardock places Kakarot in the pod and closes the door. He begins crying but the sound is inaudible through the thick pod.

Gine looks at the baby Kakarot, struggling not to cry. "I will come to you as soon as possible and we will bring you back if Bardock is wrong."

Bardock looks at the baby with a deep tender smile. "Remember, you mustn't look up at the full moon for too long."

Gine begins sobbing, "Take care."

Bardock pleads with the kid, "You have to stay alive." "I love you Kakarot."

Gine turns to Bardock in shock but quickly regains her senses. "I love you son."

Kakarot reaches out as the blast sequence begins and Bardock and Gine hold on for as long as possible. Kakarot blasts away.

Bardock grabs Gine and rushes back to their small house before he begins sobbing. I'm doing this all for you. "Now the medicine I gave you will start to begin kicking in in a half hour, I will bring you to your pod and send you off. I will attempt to distract Frieza as you leave since even while unconscious, your power level might alert a scouter."

Gine smiles at Bardock, "I really hope to see you again, but if I don't I'll always love you and be grateful for what you've done."

Bardock smiles back, "It'll all be worth it if you two survive."

Gine has a sudden glint in her eyes, "Just in case we don't see each other again, why don't we try and add to the family, something else to remember you by."

A half hour later and Gine begins to fall asleep. As Gine drifts out of consciousness, Bardock whispers, "This is my little gift to you, it doesn't make up for everything but hopefully this child can aid in your happiness."

Bardock carries Gine's sleeping form to the attack pod. He gently places her in the pod and kisses her on the forehead, before setting up the launching sequence and launching her into space.

_**Now, let's see if I can escape as well.**_


End file.
